AB1775-HPR ECONOMIC BURDEN OF PRENATAL CARE FOR WOMEN WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES
Authors: C. M. Skinner Taylor, L. Pérez Barbosa, J. A. Cardenas-de la Garza, A. Carrazco Chapa, M. E. Corral Trujillo, F. R. Arevalo Nieto, A. L. Guajardo Aldaco, A. Aguilar-Leal, D. Á. Galarza-Delgado
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2023)

<h3>Background</h3> Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) affect childbearing women. To prevent adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, multidisciplinary attention is needed, leading to increased costs of pregnancy attention [1].The financial burden that pregnant women with ARDs have,lacksprofound research. <h3>Objectives</h3> This study aims to estimate the total cost of prenatal care in pregnant women with ARDs in northeast Mexico. <h3>Methods</h3> A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out at the University Hospital "Dr. Jose E. Gonzalez", offering affordable care to uninsured patients. We estimatedthe direct costs of prenatal care for women with rheumatoid arthritis(RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and Sjögren's syndrome(SS) from the ACR/ EULAR perspective[2, 3]. National standardswere used to determine the regular prenatal care requirements [4].To calculate the total expense, prices declared by the University Hospital in 2021 were used. The used currency is USD, considering an equivalence of USD 1 = 20.28 MXN. Calculating indirect costs, such as transportation, medication, or other interventions, was not performed. No sociodemographic data from patients was used. <h3>Results</h3> The itemized costs for medical appointments, ultrasounds, laboratory tests and vaginal delivery or cesarean section for women without ARDs, with SS, RA andSLE are in <b>Table 1.</b>Prenatal care total costs for women without ARDs, with SS, RA and SLE are exposed in <b>Figure 1.</b> Our findings reported an average cost of pregnancy per trimester was up to 102.76% in women with ARDscompared to women without ARDs (USD 386.52 vs 783.72) Limitations include the variability of service prices and the absence of indirect cost calculations. <h3>Conclusion</h3> In conclusion, ARD-affected women had a high economic burden secondary to prenatal costs. In this vulnerable population, creating programs for prenatal care that consider the patient's financial statusshould be a priority for public health officials and institutions. <h3>References</h3> [1]El Miedany Y, Palmer D. Rheumatology-led pregnancy clinic: patient-centred approach. Clinical Rheumatology. 2021;40(10):3875-82. [2]Sammaritano LR, Bermas BL, Chakravarty EE, Chambers C, Clowse MEB, Lockshin MD, et al. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Reproductive Health in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72(4):461-88. [3]Meissner Y, Fischer-Betz R, Andreoli L, Costedoat-Chalumeau N, De Cock D, Dolhain R, et al. EULAR recommendations for a core data set for pregnancy registries in rheumatology. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021;80(1):49-56. [4]Diario Oficial de la Federación. Norma oficial mexicana NOM-007-SSA2-2016: Para la atención de la mujer durante el embarazo, parto y puerperio, y de la persona recién nacida 2016 [Available from: https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5432289&amp;fecha=07/04/2016#gsc.tab=0. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> NIL. <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None Declared.